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Infrastructure development in Bangladesh: Building rural livelihoods

Do improved
roads increase the availability of medical services in remote areas? They do. In
addition, they also improve the mobility of women, the availability of products
and agricultural inputs in rural markets, the possibility for children to reach
their schools and the connectivity of rural producers with suppliers and
buyers, as the Market Infrastructure Development Project in Charland Regions
(MIDPCR) shows.

Charlands in the coastal area of Bangladesh.

Jointly
funded by the Government of Bangladesh, IFAD and the Government of the
Netherlands, MIDPCR has been working since 2006 to improve the livelihoods of
women, men and children living in the one of the most remote and poor area of
Bangladesh, regularly struck by cyclones and subject to flooding. Poor road
infrastructure limited access to larger markets, increased production costs due
to high input and transportation costs, and lowered prices due to remoteness. With
a total investment of USD43.9 million and targeting poor primary producers,
small traders (both women and men), and women laborers MIDPCR constructed
road and market infrastructure, created employment opportunities in
construction works and providing training and access to financial services to
support start-up of income generating activities.

LCS member with her ID card, enabling to sell her produce at the market toll free.

Over the
implementation period of 7 years, 432 km of road and 66 markets were
constructed under MIDPCR. Instead of using regular contractors, the project
worked with Labor Contracting Societies (LCS) for market infrastructure and
village roads. LCS are groups of women who, after receiving training, construct
roads, market infrastructure and boat landing stages. In an area where
employment opportunities are scarce and women traditionally do not work outside
the house, this was a rare opportunity to earn some money. The majority of
group members were coming from landless households, in many cases the women
were heading the household. For their work they did not only receive a salary
for every day worked, they also received part of the profit made during the
construction works. Upon conclusion of their works, many of the women joined
MIDPCR’s partner NGOs who offered training and microcredit to support the women
in taking up an income generating activity. While the women spent their daily
salary on family consumption, many used the profit earned to purchase assets
such as land to cultivate vegetables or livestock. So while the LCS work is a
one-off opportunity, it can start a development path. Manju Rani, who is the
sole income earner for herself and her little son, for example, used part of the BDT 25,000 (USD300) profit
from constructing Mothertoli Bazaar to buy a milk cow and a calve. Some of the
milk she uses for family consumption, the remaining milk she sells at the
market. As all LCS members, Manju received a toll free card that enables her to
sell her produce at the market without having to pay toll. Once she has raised

After participating in the LCS works, Irani Begum leased a shopin the Women Market Section of Nazirpur Market.

the calve, she plans to sell it to buy a second milk cow. Ex-LCS members report
that in addition to an increase in income and savings, the period of food
shortage has been decreased, in some cases even eliminated, and many women used
their building skills to improve their own houses. And they say, that their
work and the fact that they now earn money has strengthened their self-confidence
and position in the community. One ex-LCS member even decided to run in the
Union Parishad elections. And won with a large majority. “We are now known as
skilled persons”, said Manju, “and we know that we can stand on our own feed.”

Pharmacy at Nazirpur Market.

In addition
to creating employment opportunities for women, the roads and markets built
under MIDPCR had another effect: they triggered a socio-economic development in the
region, benefiting the entire community. Nowadays at the markets, people can
purchase more or less the same products as in bigger cities, including seeds
and other agricultural input. Markets are growing by additional shops,
restaurants, pharmacies that are built through private investments. Shops and tea
stalls are opening up alongside the road – all this creates additional
employment opportunities, particularly for landless households. Surveys, conducted
in the project area, shows the impact of the improved infrastructure on the
life of rural people:

Travel costs
have decreased significantly, thus connecting remote villages to social
services and the market. Passenger fares for motorized vehicles on project
roads have decreased by 8% on market days and 38% on non-market days, while control
roads show an increase of 134% and 88% respectively. A similar trend is
observable for transport of goods.

Travel time
has decreased as the average speed of motorized vehicles has increased by 136%
during dry season and 182% during monsoon and the average speed of
non-motorized vehicles has increased by 114% during dry season and 155% during
monsoon.

95% stated
that the access to health service has improved.

87%
responded that the access to schools has become better (and some respondents added,
that the quality of teachers has improved as they are now willing to be posted
in this area), school enrollment in primary schools nearly doubled between 2006
and 2013.

87% answered
that access to markets has strongly improved and that goods and services have
become more affordable.

50% stated
that mobility of women has increased, respondents also said that women can now
travel alone. A large part of respondents on the other hand said, that women
still not travel to nearby towns or markets. However, girls' enrollment in
primary education more than tripled and women report improved access to maternal
and child health care programs.

70%
responded that their food security has improved, of which 40 said it has
strongly improved. Respondents also mentioned the increased variety of
available food.

75%
indicated an increase in income since the construction of the road, with 26%
mentioning a large improvement as new roads reduce travel time and increase
accessibility of jobs, ultimately allowing increased income. In addition, the
newly constructed roads have encouraged
road based employment, such as different transportation modes and road
maintenance for destitute women.

Value of
land has increased, varying strongly between 7% and 900%.

Building on
this experience, the Government of Bangladesh and IFAD, in partnership with ADB
and KfW will scale up MIDPCR’s infrastructure component in the Coastal ClimateResilient Infrastructure Project (CCRIP), which is expected to benefit 3.5 million
people in selected Upazillas of 12 coastal districts.

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